Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-12-24
THE COSTERMONGER.
A ROUGH AND READY CHARACTER
 OF THE BRITISH METROPOLIS.

fondness for Street BrawIs-How the
 CostermonGer Settles Disputes with
 His Female-The Overworked Pony
 Idle swArms in the Streets.
 The London costermonger generally
 wears fixed kind of dress His hat is
 always a black derby, rusty from rain and
 weather His coat is generally a rusty
 black frock- He rarely wears a waistcoat
 liis trousers may be corduroy or any kind
 or the cheaper wOolen patterns. His shoes
 are thick sOled and hobnailed. He always
 wears cOlored handkerchief tied around
 his neck in place of a collar. These hand
 kerchiefs are always dirty, except upon
 rare sunday and holiday occasions, when
 new ues are dOnned. These handkerchiefs
 are always of fanciful color. light blue
 ana red being the favorites. They are
 worn high up on the neck, leaving a couple
 or inches Of dirty neck showing between the handkerchief and the greasy collar of
 the shambling frOck coat. The handker-
 chief Is really the badge of the order. This
 handkerchief about the neck designates the character and standing of man in
 England as completely and thoroughly as
 II ne wore uniform prescribed by act of parllanent The cOstermOngers are men engaged in street traffic of all kinds They are generally dealers in vegetables They
 begin with push carts, and fl they are
 prosperous and reach the climax of their ambition they become the owners of small two wheeled wagons, drawn by little don Keys or ponies. The strength and endur- ance oIfthese small animals are phenome- hsruas c. .-a..
 people on costermonger's cart being drawn at a furious pace by a pony not much larger than a Newfoundland dog.
 The costermonger never gives his pony any rest He works him during the week in his business and uses the wretched lit tie animal on Sunday tO give his friends treat Tn the shape of a ride to some cock ney resort in the subuSDs The coster- monscrs live in the street. They are never indoors except for eating and sleep ing. \ very severe. driving storm will Sometimes force them into the house, but they generally take refuge under an avn ing Or some gateway. They are a hardy, tough, coarse iibered people. They are noisy, and have a perfect passion for scenes of uproar and excitement. You rarely hear of costermOuscrs numbering
 
 knives or pistols in their quarrels. They have way of pounding and kicking each other when engaged in disputes. but are rarely arrested, as they never seem Co carry malice, and their fights generally end up in a good naturcd way. The costermOnger and his female are often the chief actors in a street brawL When once cOstsrmonger has begun to keep company with a costermonger female then she is considered his property. She speaks of him as her man and she is spoken of as his gal
 IL was Sunday morning The two had started out evidently for a holiday. He was in his best. He was a surly, heavy iswed fellow, with black eyes, a short nose and brawny, hairy fists He wore a hsle black derby hat about three sizes too small for his great, round head. His handkerchief was the hghtest of sky blues. She was buxom, burly, of medi- um height. dressed in true cOstermon-er style. Their dispute grew out of a diff ference of opinion as tO where they should spend the day She insisted on going one way and be the other They disputed for half a moment. and then he turned around and deliberately gave her a kick which lifted her about six inches from the sidewalk, tO convince her that his way was the best. She turned quickly and began kicking him in return. The way she brought her number ten boots around against his shins very soon con yinced him that she was as strong at that kind of argument as he. They kicked at each other for about five minutes, the center of a delighted and cheering crowd, and then the costermonger female by her skill in kicking carried the day. In a mo- ment or two more he gave up, grinned good naturedly and the two walked of together for a happy Sabbath.
 The way domestic brawls are carried on in the streets of London cannot be l am certain, in any other city In the world. The common people who walk the streets regard these quarrels as their own private theatricals and sternly resent any interference of the police. As 2 general thing the police do not touch the brawlers unless they make too much 0f a disturbance and block up the streets. The police then simply order them to move on, and make arrests only where the disturbing party rcsists. During my stay in London l have seen more street fights than l had ever seen before in my life. The actors in these street fights or domestic brawls appear to take great pride in the parts which they are called upon to play. They are stimulated by the cheers and rOars of approval from the au- iience and do their best to maintain their for courage, ferOcity and skill In retort.
 The women are especially excitable and active in a street fight. The man gener- ally looks sulky and sheepish when en- gagged in a fight witk his female in public. But the women never give them a chance to back out. They are much more win dictive and active than the men. After the man has been kicked three or four times and has had his face scratched up to a proper state of rawnesS, he be- comes excited and then strikes out brutally and cruelty, unless a police man happens to be too near. The women are generally the victnrs in these street fights. The fighting women generally have babies in their arms have seen a number of coStermOnger viracos bound ing from the ground like hyenas, rushing up and down with great leaps, bowling insults and epithets, then sweeping down toward the hated object Of their wrath for a blow or a kick, and when the man strikes out the baby never seems Co be re- Elrucu aS any lnluE nioEt llill A uAiAtA. The costermonger female uses her baby as a shield. The poor, wretched baby is generally philosopher and rarely, if ever, hOwls or cries. I have never heard a baby even peep during the most exciting phases of a street fight, although the mother may be bowling like q panther in her rage and excitement.
 IL is this class of people that makes even the best parts of London disagreea-- blc When their work Is done they crowd the streets and fill the publics, drinking, swearing and quarreling They wander in great idle swarms up and down the best streets, never turning to the right or left for any one. do not know when they sleep. l have never been out SO late an hour that have not found any num- Der Of them marching about hooting and bowling, and without the slightest cheek or hindrance from the aUthoriues.-I C. CrawfOrd's London Letter in New York World.